Riverchase Galleria will get new anchor department store, updated hotel

The Riverchase Galleria, the state's busiest shopping destination, will get a new department store anchor under a redevelopment plan being considered by the Hoover City Council.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The Riverchase Galleria will get a new anchor department store and a renovation of the Wynfrey Hotel under an agreement that will be considered by the Hoover City Council on Monday.

Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey would only confirm Wednesday night there is a redevelopment agreement. He declined to elaborate.

A Hoover City Council agenda shows the redevelopment would bring an unnamed new department store to the former Macy's space. The agenda also shows the Wynfrey Hotel would be renovated under the agreement.

Last year, the city of Hoover considered a plan to convert the former Macy's space into a three-story convention center with an exhibition hall, meeting rooms and atheater that could seat at least 2,000 people.

The city hired the Minnesota-based Conventions, Sports & Leisure International firm to study whether the convention center would be a viable project to be placed in the three-story building that has 285,000 square feet.

The plans were put on hold in February as mall owners continued to seek a retailer for the former Macy's, most recently occupied by Belk. Nordstrom was slated to move into the spot in 2012, but those plans fell through.

In 2007, the Wynfrey Hotel completed a $3 million renovation that included new carpeting, marble and chandelier lighting in guest rooms.

The Galleria opened in February 1986, only a few months after the Interstate 459 loop was finished.

Fifteen million shoppers streamed to the Riverchase Galleria in 2010, making it the state's biggest shopping destination and its biggest attraction overall, according to the Alabama Tourism Department.

But redeveloping the Galleria -- including filling the empty former Macy's spot -- would help restore it to a prominence that has dimmed lately, said Bob Robicheaux, a professor and retailing expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

"Not unlike all other enclosed shopping malls, it's gone through a really tough period in recent years," he said.

The economy has deteriorated, causing sluggish sales for all retailers. Plus, the Galleria has faced growing competition from big-box stores and The Summit shopping center in Birmingham, an open-air center.

These days, shoppers are being increasingly drawn to open-air centers, where they can drive up to a specific store instead of walking through a large mall. So, the new occupant of the old Macy's spot will be a key ingredient in the plan.

"The right department store, the right anchor, will strengthen their ability to bring in many more smaller retailers into the mall who will benefit from the traffic the anchor will draw," Robicheaux said.

The redevelopment will be good for the sales tax base of Hoover and Jefferson County, he added. And it also will be good for other retailers in metro Birmingham, he said, because it gives out-of-towners more reasons to visit.

"The more and better retailers you can bring to a community, the greater you can extend the trading area from which people are drawn to shop," he said.